The present invention concerns a device for the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle comprising a central console.
Such a device, intended to be arranged between the seats, in particular between the front seats, serves especially for storage or support.
The document CA-A-2 245 311 describes such a device comprising, in addition to the central console, a slideway intended to be fixed to the floor of the vehicle and guiding and retaining means sliding within the slideway. The slideway extends in a longitudinal direction of elongation and has a lateral opening also extending in that longitudinal direction. Said guiding and retaining means extend through said lateral opening and are linked to the console.
The aim of the invention is to improve the functionality of the central console, while proposing a simple and therefore less troublesome device, easy to use and robust. In order so to do, the invention proposes that said guiding and retaining means are movable with respect to the slideway between a retaining position in which they are maintained within the slideway and a removal position permitting disconnection from the slideway by passing through said lateral opening.
Thus, the passenger compartment of the vehicle can be modified more by removing the central console. In addition, the fact of passing the guiding and retaining means laterally through said opening makes it possible on the one hand to leave only the slideway remaining in place in the vehicle and on the other hand to embed the slideway in the floor of the vehicle. Consequently, this solution makes it possible to benefit fully from the space freed by the console and to avoid damaging the guiding and retaining means.
In order to make the device easier to use, the invention proposes that the movement of the guiding and retaining means between the retaining position and the removal position comprises a rotational movement.
This rotational movement, distinct from the sliding movement of the console, makes it possible to reduce the risk of involuntary release of the console with respect to the slideway.
In order to reduce this risk even further, the invention proposes that the guiding and retaining means are movable between the retaining position and the removal position only in a specific zone or zones along the slideway.
According to a complementary feature, the invention proposes that:
the lateral opening has at least one sliding zone having transversely to the longitudinal direction a substantially constant width, and a removal zone of greater width, transversely to the longitudinal direction,
the guiding and retaining means comprise a runner of non-circular section pivoting within the slideway between said relative retaining and removal positions,
in the retaining position, the guiding means have a width greater than that of the lateral opening, including in the removal zone,
in the removal position, the guiding means have a width between the width of the lateral opening in the sliding zone and the width of the lateral opening in the removal zone.
As a result, the removal of the console cannot take place if the runner is placed by the user in a retaining position, irrespective of the sliding of the console with respect to the slideway. Moreover, even if the runner is placed in the removal position, it is still necessary for it to be brought into the removal zone to release the console. This makes it possible to reduce further the risk of separation of the console from the slideway due to incorrect operation or to the intervention, unwanted by the user, of children xe2x80x9cplayingxe2x80x9d with the device.
To fulfil these functions effectively, both in the retaining position and in the removal position, the runner will advantageously have a substantially rectangular shape.
In order to make the device even easier to use, the invention proposes that:
the guiding and retaining means further comprise a control rod linked at one of its ends to the runner and passing through said lateral opening, and
the control rod has opposite the lateral opening a non-circular section of a width substantially equal to the width of the lateral opening in the sliding zone, in order to prevent the rotation of the guiding and retaining means relative to the slideway in said sliding zone.
Thus, as long as the runner is opposite the sliding zone it remains in the position in which it has been placed, in the retaining position or the removal position, and it can be displaced from one position to the other when it is opposite the removal zone.
In order to make the device even easier to use, according to an advantageous feature of the invention, the control rod passes through the central console, such that the guiding and retaining means can be manipulated easily both to slide the console and to remove it.
In order to maintain the console in a specific position along the slideway, the invention proposes that the device comprises indexing means comprising:
holes disposed in the slideway and distributed in the longitudinal direction, and
an indexing rod linked to the guiding and retaining means and movable between an active position in which it is inserted into the holes of the slideway, and a retracted inactive position permitting sliding in the longitudinal direction between the guiding and retaining means and the slideway.
The invention further proposes advantageously that:
the control rod is hollow and receives internally the indexing rod,
the control rod and the indexing rod are each connected to a control handle, which control handles slide one in the other.
Thus, it is easy to retract the indexing means, slide the console and control the guiding and retaining means.
In addition, the invention proposes, in order to prevent rotation of the console about the guiding and retaining means, that the device further comprises at least one lug linked to the central console and sliding in the slideway.
The invention will become clearer from the following description, provided with reference to the appended drawings.